Good Food Guide 2019: Clare Smyth highest ever new entry and Nathan Outlaw retains crown

The Good Food Guide 2019 results are out, and three restaurants have scored perfect 10s from the judges to dominate the list of the nation's top 50.

Nathan Outlaw retained his number one spot on the list for the second year with his self-titled restaurant, followed by L'Enclume and Core by Clare Smyth in second and third places respectively (full list below).

All three scored 10/10 from the judges, making Smyth's restaurant the highest-ranked new entry since the number-based system was introduced to the guide in 1998. Smyth said she was "absolutely blown away" by the vote of confidence.

Elizabeth Carter, Good Food Guide editor, said: "At Core, Clare Smyth has found a stage on which to show off her brilliantly artistic, deeply memorable creations, and we are delighted to welcome her back with another perfect 10.

Outlaw said having his team retain their rank and rating from the previous year was "mind blowing", and added: "My aim has always been to offer customers food cooked simply but with subtle layers of flavour and to make a visit to Restaurant Nathan Outlaw an experience to remember, not only for the food, but also for the professional and welcoming hospitality our front of house team provide.

"I am grateful to each one of my fantastic team for their commitment and hard work. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw embodies everything I’d want in a restaurant as a customer, and it seems that other people like it that way too."

Carter said: "This is the perfect Good Food Guide restaurant, embodying everything we champion. Expect cooking that is consistently of the highest quality combining the freshest ingredients, from shellfish and fish from sea and estuary, to locally grown fruits and vegetables.

"There’s a brilliant wine list and the excellent service is devoted to diner enjoyment with no formality. It is with great delight that Restaurant Nathan Outlaw has been awarded a perfect 10 for the third year running, and it retains the number one spot in our top 50."

In individual categories A. Wong in Victoria won Restaurant of the Year, while The Moorcock was announced as Best New Entry for the UK.

Best New Entry for London was Hackney Wick's Cornerstone, while Angela's in Margate, Kent, won the Best for Sustainability award.

Meanwhile, the Old Bank in Snettisham, Norfolk, was named best local restaurant, and other regional winners included Home SW15 for London, Forage and Chatter in Edinburgh for Scotland and the Hare and Hounds in Glamorgan for Wales.

The local awards (listed in full below) were nominated by readers for their quality as well as their commitment to the community.

The Good Food Guide top 50 restaurants 1 Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Cornwall (10)
2 L’Enclume, Cumbria (10)
3 Core by Clare Smyth, London (10) New
4 Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham (9)
5 Ynyshir, Powys (9)
6 Claude Bosi at Bibendum, London (9)
7 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London (9)
8 Casamia, Bristol (9)
9 Pollen Street Social, London (9)
10 The Fat Duck, Berkshire (8)
11 Moor Hall, Lancashire (8)
12 Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Tayside (8)
13 Adam Reid at the French, Manchester (8)
14 Bohemia, Jersey (8)
15 Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham (8)
16 Restaurant Story, London (8)
17 André Garrett at Cliveden, Berkshire (8)
18 The Ledbury, London (8)
19 Fraiche, Merseyside (8)
20 Roganic, London (8) New
21 Midsummer House, Cambridgeshire (8)
22 Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London (8)
23 The Peat Inn, Fife (8)
24 Marcus, London (8)
25 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London (8)
26 The Kitchin, Edinburgh (7)
27 Forest Side, Cumbria (7)
28 A Wong, London (7) New
29 Orwells, Oxfordshire (7)
30 Sketch, Lecture Room & Library, London (7)
31 Hedone, London (7)
32 The Ritz London (7)
33 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh (7)
34 The Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye (7)
35 The Waterside Inn, Berkshire (7)
36 Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor, Cheshire (7) New
37 Restaurant James Sommerin, Glamorgan (7)
38 Whatley Manor, the Dining Room, Wiltshire (7)
39 Matt Worswick at the Latymer, Surrey (7) New
40 The Raby Hunt, Co Durham (7)
41 The Greenhouse, London (7)
42 The Sportsman, Kent (7)
43 Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh (7)
44 Artichoke, Buckinghamshire (7)
45 Lake Road Kitchen, Cumbria (7) New
46 Adam’s, Birmingham (7)
47 Morston Hall, Norfolk (7) New
48 Le Gavroche, London (7)
49 The Whitebrook, Monmouthshire (7)
50 Hambleton Hall, Leicestershire and Rutland (7)

Local restaurant awards Best Local Restaurant 2019
East of England The Old Bank, Snettisham, Norfolk

Regional winners Wales Hare & Hounds, Aberthin, Glamorgan
Scotland Forage & Chatter, Edinburgh
Northern Ireland Hadskis, Belfast
Midlands Harborne Kitchen, Harborne, West Midlands
North East England The Feathers Inn, Hedley on the Hill, Northumberland
North West England Joseph Benjamin, Chester, Cheshire
South East England Pulpo Negro, Alresford, Hampshire
South West England The Three Tuns, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire
London Home SW15, Putney

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